Orangetheory is so popular that when we called a week in advance, the morning classes were already full. This was a blessing in disguise because my Friday night left me craving some more shuteye and I was thankful that class wasn’t until 1:30. Forty-five minutes after leaving home, I was finally pulling into the garage and handing my keys over to the valet (it is Brentwood after all).

After filling out a waiver and getting a tour of the studio, they handed me a heart rate monitor to strap below my sports bra. The newbies met with Lal, the instructor, who went over the workout. Basically throughout class our name and heart rate would be shown on the TV monitors. The goal was to spend 12-20 minutes in the “orange zone” where we were working at more than 84% of our maximum heart rate. Ultimately, this causes an increased calorie burn for 24 to 36 hours after class.

Sweat

If you combine the bootcamp style of Barry’s with the stat knowledge at Flywheel, you get Orangetheory…that is why it is my new favorite workout. Class was broken into 7-10 minute intervals either on the treadmill or on the floor—two groups going at the same time and.

On each treadmill there were instructions for walkers, joggers, and runners. I love that this studio meets you where you are. At Barry’s I always feel like even the level one pace is too fast. Next to each type of runner there were speeds for the base, push, and all out paces. During our time on the treadmill we followed Lal’s directions and changed the incline (reaching 15% at one time…KILLER) and the speed in order to get our heart pumping.

In between each rotation, Lal would quickly explain and demonstrate the floor exercises. In case you weren’t listening, they were also shown on the TV screen. We used free weights, TRX straps, and our body weight to do bicep curls, tricep dips, tricep extensions, weighted crunches, planks, and pull ups. We also did 200-meter sprints on the rower. During the floor exercises we continued with each circuit until time was up, just trying to do any many rounds as possible.

Once class was over we did a group stretch and our results were sent to us via email (seen below).

Post Sweat

This studio couldn’t be in a better location. Craving something cold and healthy? Head to Juice Crafters or the newly opened Acai Nation. For a delicious salad, soup, sandwich or mac and cheese (whoops), Coral Tree Cafe is your go-to. Coral Tree has a ton of outside seating to take advantage of the gorgeous LA weather. If you have somewhere to be after class, take a quick shower at Orangetheory and then head to Dry Bar!

Tricks of the Trade

Validate your ticket at the studio for 90 minutes of free parking.

This is a great workout because instead of competing with classmates you’re focused on your own heart rate and making sure you’re pushing yourself.